Solar systems

It seems arrogant to talk about man-made solar systems for generating electricity for home use off-grid, as if one were to elevate one's throne above the stars of heaven as Lucifer the bearer of light to do that. Not so. The "grid" itself is that beast, the natural intellect of man, given to the industrial revolution, with the arrogance to carry man-made electricity long distances over land.

However, the set-up of solar panels themselves does depend very much on their alignment with the sun, stars and planets, and the motions of the earth and moon. A common suggestion is that solar panels should face, say, due south in the northern hemisphere, inclined from the horizontal at an angle approximately equal to one's latitude.

Conditions of partial shade and/or high latitude dictate special engineering considerations with respect to adequate insolation for generating electricity.

The maximum energy intensity of sunlight hitting the earth on a clear day may be estimated as

I = 1350 W/m² × sin α × exp(–0.30 × p / sin α)

where α is the angle of elevation of the sun above the horizon, and p is the ratio of barometric pressure at the altitude of the site to that at sea level. The second factor accounts for the slant of the sun's rays, and the third factor accounts for the filtering and dimming of the sunlight through Earth's atmosphere.